Have you benefited from progesterone therapy?

"to provide you with clear, jargon free information to enable you to make informed decisions about the benefits of progesterone therapy as they may relate to your particular health problem"

There are just as many misconceptions held about this critically important hormone by the medical professions as there are by the rest of us. This may seem like an overly bold assertion but it is based upon years of personal experience.

Important information:

A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (June 1999) states that...

"In order to obtain the proper (effective) serum levels with use of a progesterone cream, the cream needs to have an adequate amount of progesterone in it [at least 30 milligrams per gram]. Many over the counter creams have little or none at all. The creams that are made from Mexican yams are not metabolized to progesterone by women."

"the only difference between progesterone and progestin is the spelling"

...are too numerous to detail.

This is not meant as a condemnation of medical practioners in general (they're a busy bunch and its a specialised subject) but just as a caution that you should not accept all you hear about this fundamental hormone at face value.

However, you've come to the right place for real answers.

Some of what follows may be a bit dry in places but please persist as the big picture that emerges is well worth the effort.

What's the "big picture"? Simply this...

Many of the so-called "modern" diseases can be
prevented or overcome by progesterone therapy.

Much of the evidence for this is anecdotal which helps to explain the reluctance of some medicos to recognise results.

A study published in Medical Care (May 2009) examined the relationship between HRT use and heart failures in the entire US population.The results established that...

"Decreased HRT use was associated with a decrease in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction [heart attack]"

The real question is not...

"does the evidence conform to the rules?"

But...

"do I feel better?"

If the answer is "yes" and the process in getting there is simple, safe and natural then you can add your "anecdote" to the weight of real evidence.

Now lets answer that question...

"What is it?"

First of all its a hormone that has been around for about 500 million years. That makes it the oldest hormone.

Why is this important?

Because it shows how vital it is to the lives of a great many creatures on the planet.

It is essential to all vertebrates... fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals... including humans.

It has countless functions in both sexes and all ages... regulating blood sugar, developing intelligence, building bones, brain activity and many more.

Our bodies make it all the time.

This vital hormone plays a major role in the body. It is not exclusively a female hormone nor is it a 'sex' hormone. It plays no part in the secondary sexual characteristics which develop at puberty. It is the precursor to the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone.

It is secreted primarily by the ovaries in females and the testes in men. Smaller amounts are produced by the adrenal glands, the brain and glial cells in both sexes.

There are no great quantitative differences between men and women (at least outside the luteal phase).

William Allen and George Corner first isolated 'Progestational Steroidal Ketone' (these are the words that fully describe the hormone and which are the source of its commonly used name) in 1934 and proposed the name because of its "progestational" activity in the pregnant female. This was an unfortunate choice of name as it has now come to be regarded as a 'female' sex hormone, and it's many other roles having been largely forgotten.

It was not until 1943 that Russell Marker made progesterone from the plant steroid diosgenin. Originally he used the Mexican wild yam (dioscorea villosa) as a source plant. However, diosgenin has now been found in many other plants, including the spice fenugreek and the soya bean.

Once it was established that it could be produced like this biochemists began converting it into other hormones. These include cortisone, testosterone, estrogen and of course the unnatural 'progestins' or 'progestogens' that masquerade as the real, natural hormone.

There is much confusion in the minds of both the public and the professions between progesterone on the one hand, and the progestins or progestogens and "yam extracts" on the other.

Let me clear the confusion for you.

Progesterone is made in your body from cholesterol. Here are the essentials of the process...

first, your body turns the cholesterol into pregnenolone

pregnenolone is then converted to progesterone

your body then makes a cascade of other hormones that it needs from the progesterone (these include the estrogens and testosterone amongst others)

The "natural" hormone your body makes has a unique molecular structure. Here's what it looks like...

The synthetic progestins and progestogens on the other hand have an altered molecular structure. Here's what they look like...

Spot the difference? They may look similar to the real thing... just as ivy and spinach are both green and leafy (ivy quiche anyone?).

Need more proof? Take a look at these...

Not much difference to look at either, but...

estradiol tells your body its female

testosterone tells your body its male

There aren't many clearer differences than that!

The lesson here is obvious enough... if such small differences in molecular structures have such big real effects then... beware of man made alterations.

The fact is progestins behave in the body in radically different ways to progesterone itself. The only similarity between progestins and the natural hormone is their ability to maintain the endometrium (the lining of the uterus).

This also means they can be patented and sold for exhorbitant prices.

The natural hormone has no toxic side effects. However, the progestins and progestogens are potentially highly toxic because of their altered molecular structure. Some of the known side effects are...

an increased risk of abortion and congenital abnormalities if taken by pregnant women

fluid retention

epilepsy

migraine

asthma

cardiac and renal dysfunction

depression

breast tenderness

nausea

insomnia

cancer

a drop in progesterone levels

...and many more.

The long term effect of the synthetic progestins on adrenal, hepatic, ovarian and uterine function is unknown.

And now for "yam extracts" and "yam creams"... simply put...

"these do not contain progesterone"

They do contain the plant steroid diosgenin, but the body cannot convert diosgenin into the hormone itself. The yam creams can have a beneficial 'adaptogenic' effect on the body but, unlike the hormone itself, they cannot correct hormonal imbalances such as excessive levels of estrogen.

The key message in answering the headline question is simply this...

"Natural" progesterone... just as your body makes it, is a unique substance with unique properties that cannot be faked and that is essential to good health and...

...to life itself.

To learn more about this essential substance and its therapeutic benefits please follow the links in the left margin menu. Please also complete the free questionnaire... you'll find it top right of this page.

If your interest is more technical or research oriented then please...

Is this the future of medicine?

Disclaimer:
Although this web site is not intended to be prescriptive, it is intended, and hoped, that it will induce in you a sufficient level of scepticism about some health care practices to impel you to seek out medical advice that is not captive to purely commercial interests, or blinded by academic and institutional hubris. You are encouraged to refer any health problem to a health care practitioner and, in reference to any information contained in this web site, preferably one with specific knowledge of progesterone therapy.